BASIC CONCEPT:
There is a family of tunings which are basically Richter harps that have been altered only slightly. Paddy Richter, Melody Maker and Country tuning come to mind. I have never been a big fan of Richter nor its nearest relatives. But earlier this week I pursued a line of thinking that went down that path (or rabbit hole?).
If you have some “beater” Richter harps lying around, and if you can tune a reed up or down a little bit, then these can be quick and easy projects/experiments.
Here is how to make a ten-holer in this new subfamily of tunings:
1. Raise the 5 draw and the 9 draw by one semitone.
2. Depending on the initial condition of the 7 draw, either:
........a. Lower it by two semitones, to match the 6 draw, or …
........b. Raise it by three semitones, to match the 8 draw.
THAT’S IT!
You now have—what I like to call—a “neck rack tuning.” In other words, a tuning that has big, fat chordal areas, especially (and in this case exclusively) the oh-so-important I, IV and V chords of blues/pop/rock. Tunings like this are particularly good for beginners, and for people who are quite busy playing guitar, drums, etc. The blow layer of this “neck rack” tuning is a IV chord straight through--exactly the same as standard Richter. The draw layer is about about half I chord (on the left) and half V chord (on the right).
WHEN/HOW: March of 2018. I have made one and love it.
LAYOUT/DETAILS:
![Image](%5Battachment=0%5D2018-03-05%20%282%29.png%5B/attachment%5D)